UCLA FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: Bruins seniors have their moment

When UCLA's football practice ends today, Joseph Fauria will linger a little longer on Spaulding Field.

The senior tight end will think back through his three seasons as a Bruin, a latecomer as a former transfer from Notre Dame turned into one of the team's most crucial offensive cogs. And then he'll walk past the blue gates and leave an on-campus practice for the last time.

The Bruins will head to San Diego this weekend to begin preparation for the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 27, a game that could give them their first 10-win season since 2005. For the seniors, it will be the last time they play in front of a fanbase they helped re-energize.

"I'm glad to be part of this culture change, this program change and send it off for years to come," Fauria said Wednesday. "I'm excited that I left the program better than when I came.

"It says something about the senior class, our effort and our drive."

UCLA will be hard-pressed to replace Fauria's production as he broke out with 578 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.

Double goes for star tailback Johnathan Franklin, who set a slew of UCLA records in becoming one of the top runners in the country, an All-American and Doak Walker finalist.

"I'm counting down the days," Franklin said. "It's my last game and my last time really in Westwood, at UCLA. I'm just enjoying each day, each moment, each minute, each second. It's a blessing."

As for what will happen once the clock runs down at Qualcomm Stadium in a week, Franklin expected another outpour of emotion.

"Probably tears," he said, his voice shaking a little. "Tears of joy, tears of sadness. I'm sure I'll be crying. But I'll be happy, too. Came so far. I've grown so much as an athlete and a young man."

Draft lock?

Senior punter Jeff Locke rarely makes the highlight reels, but his contributions to UCLA hardly went unnoticed. He was one of three Bruins to make an All-Pac-12 first team, his 43.4-yard average ranking third in the conference.

Asked whether he had seen any other punters display Locke's work ethic, head coach Jim Mora said: "Yes, I have, and they're all in the NFL."

Mora compared Locke to former New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons kicker Morten Andersen, who made seven Pro Bowls and is the NFL's all-time leading scorer. The first-year UCLA coach was a Saints defensive backs coach in the early 1990 s, when Andersen was in the prime of a 25-year career.

Punters usually don't get looked at early in NFL drafts - if it all - but a team could take a shot on Locke in the seventh round or so. Last year, the Jacksonville Jaguars took some ridicule for selecting Cal punter Bryan Anger in the third round at 70 th overall, the highest spot for a punter since 1995.

Anger currently is third in the league in net average (42.7) and fifth in punts downed inside the 20-yard line (28).